SAILPOWER: COGS OF VALOR

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1 SAILPOWER: COGS OF VALOR What is Sailpower-Cogs of Valor? Copyright 2010, 2011, 2012 Brian Carnes Last updated Cogs of Valor is a fast paced game that puts the players in the role of a medieval noble who has built or hired a cog or fleet of cogs to defend or fight for their native lands, and perhaps find great glory and riches. The game can be played in one of two scales: 1/100th in which case the unit of measure is in inches, or 1/250 th in which case the unit of measure is in centimeters. To play you need: at least two players, cogs for each player, a way of representing crew, plus D20 and D6 dice. You will also need some scrap paper to record how you have chosen to configure your cog s crew Crewing your cog: Cogs come in two sizes, small and large. To start the game a small cog can be manned with up to 30 points of crew, and a large one can take up to 60 points of crew. Hulks, which are basically large two-masted vessels like an oversized cog, may be crewed with up to 90 points of crew. To balance sides each player or team should probably start with a equal amount of crew points. A player can buy crewmembers with or without upgrades up to the starting max for their cog(s) as follows: 1 point for a basic crewmember (or peasant). A basic (not upgraded) crewmember can sail, row, engage in hand to hand combat, fight fire (1 per turn), and be upgraded. An upgraded crewmember may gain or lose abilities based on the upgrades chosen. o 1 point additional for an armor upgrade. Armor gives the upgraded crewmember a save roll of 12 or less. Crewmembers with this upgrade cannot sail or row. o 1 point additional for a sword upgrade. This weapon upgrade is used for close combat. A crewmember with this upgrade cannot sail. o 1 point additional for a longbow upgrade. This weapon upgrade is used for ranged combat. A Crewmember with this upgrade cannot sail. o 1 point additional for a mace upgrade. This weapon upgrade is used for close combat. A minus two modifier to target number applies. A saved hit from a mace generates an automatic second save roll. If this second roll is unsaved, the target crewmember is captured and automatically sent to the attacker s cog hold. This crewmember may be liberated later if the cog holding them is captured. 1

2 Heros! In every crew there are those who stand out from the rest. In Cogs of Valor, these are referred to as heroes. A cog may only start the game with one hero for every five crewmembers it has. A hero still cost 1 point like any other crew, but heroes get a free save roll of 12 or less because they are heroes! Hero Upgrades! Having a hero allows the player to buy a hero upgrade. Hero upgrades generally cost two points extra for each hero that is to be so upgraded. A hero may only have one hero upgrade and the upgrade can only be purchased at the start of the game. If the hero falls in combat, the upgrade can be assigned to another crewmember, and that crewmember can use the ability, but this crewmember does not get the hero save roll as they are but hero apprentices! Please note that your hero DOES NOT HAVE TO have a hero upgrade. If they choose not to upgrade, they only cost the one point for purchasing them like any other crew, and they still get their special hero save roll. Each hero cost I point for the crew + any desired basic upgrades, plus possibly one of the following: o o o o 2 points additional for a crossbow upgrade. This weapon upgrade is used for ranged combat and ignores armor on target. A crewmember with this upgrade cannot sail. 2 points additional for quick shot upgrade. This upgrade equips the crewmember with an improved longbow that allows this crewmember to fire twice per turn. A crewmember with this upgrade cannot sail. 2 points additional for carpenter s mate upgrade. This upgrade allows the crewmember to repair 2 hull and 4 units of fire per turn. 2 points additional for a fire pot specialist upgrade. This upgrade gives the crewmember a slingshot and burning oil pots that can be hurled at opposing cogs. A crewmember with this upgrade cannot sail. The Ballista This is a heavy artillery weapon resembling a crossbow. There are some references in old literature of land based war engines (catapults, trebuchets and battering rams) being carried by cog, but most of these references the weapons are merely being transported. In some references it seems to suggest the ballista may be an exception to this. I am including a set of rules for optional use. The Ballista takes up a lot of real estate on the deck, and thus cost 10 crew spots on the cog, and lowers the crew capacity of the deck it is located on by 10. Ballista must be carried on the main deck. A small cog may only carry one, a large cog or hulk may carry two. Additionally, when planning the cog s crew, please note the ballista will need four free crewmember actions to operate properly. A ballista may only fire at targets within line of site, and must be placed pointed to one side or the other. The ballista can be re-pointed at any target with line of site to the side it is pointed off of for free. However if it needs to be pointed off of the other side it needs to be rotated first. If it needs to be rotated during battle, Any four crewmembers can use their actions to rotate the ballista during the movement phase instead of firing (a rotated ballista can t fire until the next turn). 2

3 The Leader! In addition to a player s crewmembers, the player also gets a crewmember to represent themselves as leader. The leader gets all basic upgrades plus one hero upgrade and does not cost points against the budget of that player s cogs. The leader may not be targeted unless there are no other crewmembers on deck. The leader may not reassign his upgrades to other crew. If desired, the leader can store his upgrades in the hold of holding as long as they are clearly marked. If the player has a hero upgrade from a fallen hero, the leader may switch hero upgrades during the reassignment step of phase 4 (covered later in these rules) as long as the original upgrade is marked as belonging to the leader (The subjects are not to touch the leader s personal upgrades!). Crewmember assignments, Cog attributes and Crew placement Each player starts with an equivalent amount of cogs. Assume that two small cogs are equal to one large one. A hulk equals three small cogs or one and a half large ones. Once the players have their cogs and have picked their crews, they can assign the crew to their cogs. Players can represent crew with 15 to 20 MM miniatures mounted on washers, or with small dice. In either case players may want to use color coding to easily distinguish the various types of crewmembers. Players can track which type of crewmember goes to what color on a small sheet of paper. Crewmembers can be assigned up to the allowed maximum for each area on the cog. Cog types SMALL MERCHANT COG (10 hull): STERN CASTLE 20 MAIN DECK 30 (NO FORECASTLE) CROWSNEST 4 SMALL COG (10 hull): STERN CASTLE 20 MAIN DECK 20 FORECASTLE 10 CROWSNEST 4 LARGE COG (20 hull): STERN CASTLE 20 MAIN DECK 40 FORECASTLE 10 CROWSNEST 4 HULK (30 hull): STERN CASTLE 20 MAIN DECK 60 FORECASTLE 20 CROWSNEST 4 Other deck configurations may be possible, but as a general rule they should be classified as small or large for hull purposes, with only the assignable deck limits as variable values based on the cog represented. Large two-masted ships are considered hulks, but are also considered to be large, and a cog for general rules purposes. Once all the players have crewed their cogs they can be placed around the play surface, either on opposing sides, at the corners, or in any manner agreed upon by the players. 3

4 Gameplay The game is played in turns consisting of four phases. Movement and combat phases are played in a simultaneous manner meaning all ships move together, then fight together. The casualties are not figured until the end. 1. Wind 2. Movement 3. Combat 4. Regroup / Search Detailed rules for each phase will follow. Phase 1 Wind Starting wind should be picked by player agreement.. (Fair wind means no one should start the game rowing). On every other turn a GM or designated player rolls a D6: On result of 1: Wind changes 2 facings counter clockwise from current On result of 2 : Wind changes 1 facing counter clockwise from current On result of 3 or 4: No change On result of 5: Wind changes 1 facing clockwise from current On result of 6: Wind changes 2 facings clockwise from current 4

5 Phase 2 Movement All players secretly determine their heading and speed then announce their intended movement. In a small game this may be done verbally. In a larger game the players may want to use cards or write their moves down on a sheet of paper that can be flipped over to reveal the intended course. All players move at the same time. Heading points are simply the cardinal/ordinal directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). A cog can move directly forward or backward or turn to one heading point to the left or right (or larboard and steerboard in period nautical speak) then move up to their available speed on that heading. Players should note that it is not required to move full speed. Available speed can be determined by the wind in relation to the cog s intended heading point. First a cog must have two crewmembers to sail. If the cog does not have two crewmembers to sail, and is not rowing, the cog will drift 6 with the wind (orientation remains the same). Crewmembers that participated in sailing or rowing have acted and may not attack or do other actions this turn. Assuming the ship is sailing and crewed the speeds are as follows (see also chart): If the wind will be coming from behind or within a heading point to the left or right, then the speed is up to 24 (broad reach), If the wind is coming from perpendicular to the right or left, then the speed is 18 (beam reach), On all other headings the cog is moving into the wind thus must be rowed. The cog has a speed based on the number of rowers on the main deck. For every two rowers on the main deck the cog gets one speed for large cogs or two speed for small cogs. The maximum achievable speed by rowing is twelve. Rowing crew must be on main deck. A hulk gets a -2 to its speed if the wind is directly behind and a +2 to its speed on all other headings that are not in to the wind. Collisions and ramming! If any cog is likely to hit another during its movement, the players can move in steps based on relative speed (e.g. if cog A is at 6 and B is at 18, steps are 1 to 3). If it appears that there will be a ram and it can be avoided by stopping, either player can choose to stop. If neither player chooses to stop, or can t avoid the ram, both cogs take a D20 worth of hull damage. 5

6 Phase 3 Combat A: Artillery! Ballista and Firepot Specialists - After all ships have moved, any firepot specialists or ballista may attack. This action takes place BEFORE any other combat Firepots have range of 12. To attack, start with twelve as a target number, and then add +2 if the target is a large cog or hulk. Roll a D20 and if the result is under the target number, including the modifier for size if applicable, this weapon scores 2 hull damage and 2 units of fire to the target cog. A roll of 20 is a critical miss and the player deals the damage to their own cog! A Ballista has a range of 24 and may be rotated or fired with four crew actions. To attack, start with twelve as a target number, and then add +2 if the target is a large cog or hulk. If the target cog has a ballista, the ballista may attempt to target it for a -4 modifier. Roll a D20 and if the result is under the target number, including the modifiers this weapon scores 4 hull damage to the target cog. Additionally, if the player targeted a ballista, it is destroyed on hit. B: Grappling If a cog is within 3 of another, either cog may attempt to grapple the other cog and pull together. If there are any crewmembers on the opposing cog it is considered to be defended, and the opposing player may roll to repel the grapple by rolling higher than the grappling player on a D20. If not repelled, the cogs are grappled and held together 6

7 C: Ranged Combat Ranged attack capable crew, longbow and crossbow equipped, may fire at (attack) opposing crew. The attacker chooses targets. All attacks are considered an action for the attacker. To attack with ranged combat, start with 10 as a target number then add or subtract any modifiers for ranges over optimum, friendly fire, or targets in defended locations. Targets within optimum range get a +1 modifier. Longbows have an optimum range of 24 and a range modifier of -1 for every 2 beyond 24. Crossbows have an optimum range of 18 and a range modifier of -1 for every 1 beyond 18 If target is on the same deck as crewmembers friendly to the firer there is a -4 friendly fire modifier If the target crewmember is on another cog s castles or the crow s nest, and the firing crewmember is not in a crow s nest, there is a -2 Defended location modifier to the attack. Roll a D20 for each attack. If the result is less than the target number, the unit is hit. If the target unit has save roll(s) from armor and/or being a hero, they may negate the hit by succeeding on one of the save rolls. An unsaved hit will be scored as a kill, and the targeted crewmember is removed at the beginning of the regroup phase. Crewmembers who are killed this phase may still act this phase. If shot would otherwise have hit but misses because the friendly fire modifier ( misses by 4 or less off of needed number) it hits a friendly crew of targeted player s choice Unless a specific figure represents each crewmember, ranges should be measures from the center of the attacker s deck to the center of the target deck. 7

8 D: Boarding/close combat If a cog is grappled, either side may board the other if they have crewmembers with free actions on the main deck. If both sides board then combat occurs in the middle. If either side is completely eliminated in the impending combat action the winner gets to complete their boarding action, which locates them on the opponent s main deck. If not, both sides retreat back to their own cog. Crew that have not already attacked or otherwise acted may attack any opposing crewmembers that are on the same deck, or adjacent main deck, as they are. All close combat attacks are considered an action for the attacking crewmember. To attack with close combat, start with 14 as a target number then subtract modifiers if applicable. If the attacker is using a mace add a -2 If the attacker is unarmed versus an armed target add a -4. If the attacker is unarmed versus an armored target add a -2 modifier. If the attacker is unarmed and unarmored versus an armored target add a -4 Roll a D20. If the result is less than the target number the unit is hit. If the target unit has save roll(s) from armor and/or being a hero, they may negate the hit by succeeding on one of the save rolls. An unsaved hit from a sword or mace will be scored as a kill and the targeted crew is removed at the beginning of the regroup phase. An unsaved hit from a hand to hand equipped (base) crewmember results in a captured crewmember that is automatically sent to the attacker s cog hold. These crewmembers may be liberated later if the cog holding them is captured. 8

9 Phase 4 Regroup and Searches A: Cleanup - Players may loot the eliminated crewmembers from any cog they control, and then all killed crewmembers are removed. All cogs with opposing crew on any deck, and no friendly crew on any deck, are captured (the crow s nest is not a deck). B: Repair- Cogs with repair heroes may repair and fight fire. Additionally, any crewmembers that have not acted may fight fire at 1 per crew or repair at 1 hull per 2 crewmember actions. C: Treasure Searching - Cogs may search any roughly adjacent (within 3) islands. See "Treasure rules" below for more on that. D: Transfers - If desired, crew can be transferred between adjacent decks, cogs (via main decks), or islands. E: Crew equipping and conversion Players may assign or reassign upgrades as they see fit. Any unneeded upgrades can be kept in the cog s hold of holdings (see miscellaneous rules) The player may also attempt to convert any captured crewmember in their hold by rolling a 1 or 20 on a D20. Player may make one attempt per crewmember per turn. Converted crewmembers join the cog s crew and are no longer able to be liberated! F: Fire- Any unrepaired fire doubles and does the new value fire in hull damage. G: Grapple Breaks - Any grappled cogs break free H: Sinking - Any cogs at zero or less hull sink! Armored crewmembers are killed and the opposing player who last caused damage to the sinking cog, will get the points for crewmember elimination. Unarmored crewmembers are captured by the last player to damage the sinking cog. Captured crewmembers are automatically sent to the attacker s cog hold. These crewmembers may be liberated later if the cog holding them is captured. Miscellaneous rules Scoring 1 point per opposing crewmember eliminated 2 points for boarding a opposing (not abandoned) cog 2 points for visiting an island for the first time and searching it 5 points for any action resulting in an opposing cog being sunk 8 points for eliminating all crew of a cog that is not captured by the player 10 points for capturing an opposing or abandoned cog 9

10 The cog s hold of holdings. Any unneeded crewmembers, treasure items, upgrades, or captured crewmembers that are not being used can be kept in the hold of the cog that found it. If a player chooses to reassign upgrades and does not need certain ones, they can store them here. Likewise, any upgrades from eliminated crewmembers on cogs the player controls are stored here. Players can access the hold to change how crewmembers are upgraded during Phase 4, Regroup and Searches step E. If friendly cogs are adjacent, the player may transfer items between holds. If the player s cog sinks, everything in the hold of holding is lost! Treasure Rules If desired, players can have searchable islands on their play surface. If a crewed cog is adjacent to an island during Phase 4 Regroup and Searches step D, they may roll a D20, on the result of 12 or less, the search succeeds and the player rolls 3 D6 dice. Compare the resulting roll to the following table to determine what is found. Whatever is found may be assigned to the cog that found it, assuming there is a free spot on one of the decks or the crows nest, or added to that cog s hold of holding. An island may only be successfully searched once per player. Anchoring cogs 3. Gold! (20 points) 4. Two Hero Firepot specialist crewmembers with armor upgrade 5. Two Hero Crossbow crewmember with armor 6. Timber! (cash in anytime to repair up to 6 hull) 7. 4X Longbow upgrades 8. 4X Sword upgrades 9. 3X Crewmember with armor upgrade 10. 2X Basic crewmembers 11. 3X Basic crewmembers 12. 2X Mace upgrades 13. 4X Crewmember with armor and longbow upgrades 14. Fire resistant paint (add to cog anytime to ignore the next 4 fire hits scored against the paint protected cog) 15. 6X crewmembers with armor upgrade 16. 6X armor upgrades 17. Exquisite statues (10 points) 18. 4X hero crewmembers with armor upgrades and hero upgrade of player s choice A player can, at any point in which his or her cog is not moving, drop anchor. An anchored cog will not drift and does not need crew to operate it (because it is not moving). This anchor stone can be cut away at any point and the cog resumes normal operation. Chaining cogs If a group of friendly adjacent cogs wishes to block an entrance or channel they may be anchored and lashed together as a chain. The cogs can do this at Phase 4, Step E. Chained cogs apply damage equal to the number of chained 10

11 cogs X D20 to any cog that chooses to ram the line. Damage to a cog hull that is rammed while in a chain is reduced by the number of cogs in the chain. The Chain is broken if a member cog sinks. The cogs in the chain, adjacent to a sinking cog, must make a save roll of 12 or less. If they fail, they also take D20 hull damage. Cog Matching A variant of your basic skirmish is to cog-match which is to play an every player for themselves death match. In cog-matching each player starts with 60 points of cog (either 1 large or 2 small) and starts arrayed evenly around the board. If players cogs are captured or sunk, they lose their hold contents with the exception of points items. Points items are kept by the player when cogs sink. If the cog was captured, the points items go to the capturing player. After being fully eliminated, a player can select a new 60 points worth of cog and respawn at the board edge farthest from where the player was last eliminated at the beginning of the next turn. The game is played for a pre-agreed amount of time at which point the player with the most points wins! Cog Matching Free Port Rule (optional) Before the game begins players can agree upon a free port" location on the play surface. All cogs are able to dock there, but they aren't allowed to be engaged in combat with each other while in port. Cogs not docked at the free port can attack the docked opposing cogs. A cog docked at the free port can "buy items using victory points. Items that can be acquired include crewmembers and upgrades including heroes at double their normal cost, and hull repair at 1 hull per 1 point. Players may also buy or sell cogs. Cogs are bought or sold for 30 points for a small or 60 points for a large. These cogs appear at the port and do not come crewed. If a player buys or sells a cog, they may transfer their crewmembers and hold of holdings to the new cogs as desired while at port. A player may not make any buy or sell that prevents them from being able to assign all crewmembers to a cog. CREDITS Sailpower : Cogs of Valor is written and designed by Brian Carnes is Copyright Brian Carnes. Proofing and play testing assistance was provided by Dave Oberting, Chris Neill, Scott Maddy, Brian McCabe, Catherine Chestnut, Ann Christy, Cassandra Angel, Ed Wedig, Becky Allar, Will Benedetti, and others from the Sailpower GM team. Thanks to all of you for your interest in Cogs of Valor. Please check out our blog for the latest on Sailpower cog related gaming at the blog.sailpowergame.com Cogs of Valor page! Other SDGS sites!

12 Outfitting a Cog Fleet! Centimeter Scale Cogs: The 1/250th scale cogs can be painted, and have very basic masting that can be added to improve the looks. Players can also add small sails and pennants cut from heavy paper if desired! Inch Scale Cogs: The 1/100th scale Cogs require a bit more assembly. It is probably best to paint the pieces before final assembly. We use craft acrylics which are water based, non toxic, and available in many colors. The wood stanchions should be sanded or filed to ensure evenness. On the bottom it should be noted that a slight angle may be needed for a perfect fit due to the angle of the deck. The pic below illustrates the placement of the stanchions. Note the dowel placement of the bowsprit nested between the fore stanchions. Also note that the tiller is a short piece of dowel glued in place. The Sail is cut from heavy grade watercolor paper, and is a basic rectangle with a bit of added arc cut from the bottom as a matter of style. The pennant is cut from the same paper and curled with a scissors edge. The sail can be painted with a bit of weathering or even a bit of heraldry! Sailpower Cog Kits are copyright 2010 Brian Carnes. They can be purchased at shows attended by the author, at the Soldiery ( or at select local game stores. 12